Red Bull must ‘firm up’ on engine plans by end of November – Horner

Christian Horner says that Red Bull “needs to be firming up” on a position regarding its engine plans for 2022 by the of the month of November.

The announcement last month by Honda of the Japanese manufacturer’s departure from F1 at the end of 2021 has left Red Bull scrambling to secure an engine supply deal for both its teams.

While the FIA could compel Renault to provide its engines to RBR and AlphaTauri from 2022, in conformity with F1’s regulations, Red Bull’s current preferred option is to take over Honda’s engine program and bring the latter’s units in-house.

“I think our preferred option would be to continue with the power unit that is in the car next year, obviously rebadged as something else,” said Horner.

“If we can make an agreement with Honda regarding the use of the IP and product moving forward it would be a great shame to see those engines just in a warehouse somewhere in Japan, so subject to what the regulations are, it would be the preferred route would be to find an agreement to continue with those power units.”

However, such a plan would require Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault to agree to a freeze on power unit development as Red Bull cannot afford to follow the trio of engine manufacturers in a costly spending war.

But so far, only Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who views a prospective freeze as a “sensible proposal”, has responded positively to Red Bull’s demand.

“I think we’ve been having quite productive discussions behind the scenes with the Commercial Rights Holder and the governing body,” added Horner.

“Obviously there’s some key elements that need to be in place, before making any commitment on future engine plans, regarding engine freezes and so on.”

Read also: F1 will address ‘economics’ around 2026 engine – Carey